Nothing that befalleth men is due to anything else than Destiny, for even in my childhood I did not commit any such sin in thought, word, or deed, whence might come this calamity.

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And hearing the words, the same king became senseless with wrath, and then told them all, carried away by Destiny, Go ye all, may ye never return!

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As Destiny would have it, and as the word of the creator would not be untrue, in that same hind was born his Vibhandaka's son a mighty saint.

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And here he saw his two brothers and the noble-minded Draupadi on the shoulders of the demon, and Sahadeva on the ground rebuking the Rakshasa and also that stupid Rakshasa himself deprived of sense by Fate, going round in different directions through bewilderment caused by Destiny.

Men, O king, attain what they have in consequence of the grace of the gods of Destiny or of their own actions.

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SECTION CCVII Markandeya continued, The pious fowler, O Yudhishthira, then said to that Brahmana, Undoubtedly my deeds are very cruel, but, O Brahmana, Destiny is all-powerful and it is difficult to evade the consequence of our past actions.

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Indeed, how could this saying be true unless, as I think, it be that everything here is dependent on Destiny?

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I incline to think that Time, and human Destiny that dependeth on our acts, and the Inevitable, are irresistible in respect of creatures.

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And may, O son, that best of those that impart heat, viz, Surya, thy father, and from whom I have obtained thee as ordained by Destiny, protect thee everywhere!

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Indeed, the excellent coat of mail and those ear-rings made of Amrita that were born with his body, as also the ordinance of Destiny, kept the child alive

That the mighty-armed and terrible bowman, Dhananjaya the son of Pritha, should now live like a fire that hath been put out, maketh me think of all this as attributable to Destiny.

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Thou shouldst not be aggrieved at this; for Destiny is all powerful in this world; and, O Yudhishthira, high-minded persons have to endure miseries of various kinds, nay, even the gods themselves, O king, have suffered misfortunes.

O Suta, I think, Destiny is now unpropitious to my sons, since so many mighty car-warriors have been slain by that one warrior of the Satwata race, Alas, O Sanjaya, my army is no match for even one warrior, viz, Yuyudhana inflamed with wrath.

Thou, O son, are now in every way the sole staff of the blind monarch, bereft of foresight, afflicted with calamity, struck by Destiny, and who, though repeatedly dissuaded, could not abstain from pursuing his evil policy.

Bhishma replied, Why, O fortunate one, dost thou consider thy soul, which is dependent on God and Destiny and Time to be the cause of thy actions?

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SECTION VI Yudhishthira said, Tell me, O learned sire that art versed in all the scriptures, of Exertion and Destiny which is the most powerful'

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In olden times the adorable Vasishtha enquired of Brahma as to which among these two, viz, the Karma of a creature acquired in this life, or that acquired in previous lives and called Destiny, is the more potent in shaping his life.

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As, unsown with seed, the soil, though tilled, becomes fruitless, so, without individual Exertion, Destiny is of no avail.

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One's own acts are like the soil, and Destiny or the sum of one's acts in previous births is compared to the seed.

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Everything can be secured by Exertion: but nothing can be gained through Destiny alone, by a man that is wanting in personal Exertion.

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If one's Karma bore no fruit, then all actions would become fruitless, and relying on Destiny men would become idlers.

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He who, without pursuing the human modes of action, follows Destiny only, acts in vain, like unto the woman that has an impotent husband.

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In this world the apprehension that accrues from performance of good or evil actions is not so great if Destiny be unfavourable as one's apprehension of the same in the other world if Exertion be wanting while here

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Man's powers, if properly exerted, only follow his Destiny, but Destiny alone is incapable of conferring any good where Exertion is wanting.

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There is a constant rivalry between the deities and the Rishis, and if they all have to go through their Karma, still it can never be averted that there is no such thing as Destiny, for it is the latter that initiates all Karma.

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How does Karma originate, if Destiny form the prime spring of human action?

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Destiny thwarts not the man that has attained to virtue and righteousness.

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Destiny does not help the man that is steeped in spiritual ignorance and avarice.

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Even as a fire of small proportions, when fanned by the wind, becomes of mighty power, so does Destiny, when joined with individual Exertion, increase greatly in potentiality.

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As with the diminution of oil in the lamp its light is extinguished so does the influence of Destiny is lost if one's acts stop.

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The man that does not exert himself is never contented in this world nor can Destiny alter the course of a man that has gone wrong.

Without doubt, Destiny is incapable of being warded off or conquered by individual exertion, since, O lord, I am unable to acquire, notwithstanding these persistent efforts of mine, the object, upon the acquisition of which I have set my heart.